Simulation with Arena
Introduction
Book: Simulation with Arena 4th Ed, David Kelton
Chapter 3
Dr. P.H.Tram, Jan 2020
Introduction
● Arena installation
● The Arena window
● Basic modules in Arena
● Arena built-in variables
● Plot
● Run a simulation model
● View the simulation report
Arena installation
Download “Arena for Students” for free (PC only)
https://www.arenasimulation.com/academic/students
https://www.arenasimulation.com/frequently-asked-questions
Flowchart modules
Flowchart view
Spreadsheet view
Spreadsheet (data)
modules
Arena window
- Window menu: File, Edit, View, Run, Window
- Panning, zooming, viewing, aligning in Flowchart view
- Modules:
+ Basic Process, Advanced Process, Advanced Transfer
+ Flowchart module, Spreadsheet (Data) modules
Example: A simple processing system
Conceptual model
Part arrival Drilling center Processed parts
Interarrival time
Processing time
~ Exponential (5)
~ Triangular (1,3,6)
- Entity?
Queue discipline: FIFO - Attributes?
- Resource?
- Queue?
Objectives
Evaluate the system by collecting statistics in each area on:
- Resource utilization
- Number in queue
- Time in queue
- Cycle time (Total time in the system)
Example: A simple processing system
1 replication, replication length: 20 min, 24hour/day
Drag and drop
Define: Define: Record entity
Entity Resources statistics
interarrival time Logic action
Setting Run conditions
❖ “Run” setup
- Replication parameters:
+ Number of replications
+ Replication length
+ Hours per day
+ Time unit
+ Warm up period
- Project parameters:
+ Statistics collection
❖ Run the model: Run> Go (F5), Run> Check (F4)
Viewing the report
❖ Category overview
❖ Tree outline on the project bar
- Queue: waiting time, waiting length
- Resource: Utilization
- Entity: Wait time, WIP
- Simple Processing: Total time that entity in the system, number in, out
Viewing the report - Some statistics concepts
- Tally statistics: taking the average, minimum, or maximum from a list of
numbers (discrete-time)
- Time-persistent statistics: taking the (time) average, minimum, or maximum
of a plot of something during the simulation (continuous-time)
- Counter statistics: accumulated count of something
Ex: average time in system, average queue length, WIP, number entities
left the system
- Instantaneous Utilization: Time weighted average of [number of units busy/
number of units scheduled at that point in time] over the whole run. (When
there is no capacity scheduled, utilization at that time is zero)
- Scheduled Utilization: Time-average of number of units busy over the whole
run/ Time-average of number of units scheduled over the whole run
Arena concepts
System features Arena modules
Entity attributes:
- Random part arrival time < Create module >
- ... < Entity data module>
Random processing time < Process module >
Number of required resource
Resource capacity < Resource data module >
Queue discipline < Queue data module>
Define entity name and its attributes
❖ “Create” flowchart module
❖ “Entity” data module
● Attributes: data storage objects associated with entities. Attributes are local to
entities.
Define process name, resources and action logic
❖ “Process” flowchart module
❖ “Process” spreadsheet
- Logic: Seize+Delay+Release/ Delay/ Seize+Delay/Delay+Release
Example:
- Priority: when a resource has to serve different types of entities
- Resource: distinguish between number of resources required to serve an
entity (defined in “process” module) with resource capacity (defined in
“resource” data module )
More about resources
❖ “Resource” data module
- Capacity
- Schedule
- Failure
Define queue
❖ “Queue” data module
- Queue discipline
Variables
● global data storage objects used to store and modify state information; they
can be accessed, examined, and modified from every component of the
model.
● Example of Arena Built in variables
Arena Built-in Variables Meaning
TNOW current simulation time
NQ(Queue ID) number of entity in queue
NR(Resource ID) number of busy resource
For a complete list of frequently used Arena built-in variable, see in book of Tayfur Altiok,
Appendix A. You can also usually find the Arena built-in variables in the “Expression Builder”
in the sub-window of many modules
Dynamic plot
- “Expression”: the parameter you want to plot, eg. NQ(process1.queue)
Basic issues to be covered in this course
Processor Processed entities
Entity
Arrival
queue
- Arrival: Stationary process (identified probability
distribution)/ Non stationary process (schedule)
- Queue: queue discipline
- Resource: capacity, group of resource, priority, schedule,
failure
- Record statistics: waiting time, resource utilization,
number in/out..(by default and by user specified)
Your tasks
● Install “Arena for Student” version
● Watch the Arena Demo video: https://youtu.be/U6Pif0FzWf0
● Rebuild the model of the Simple processing system like the one in the Demo
Video yourself
● Play around with the software to get familiar with the Arena window
● Do exercise 1. Submit on Blackboard your simulation file (name it as [Your
name]-Excersise 1.doe) and your answers in word file (name it as [Your
name]-Excersise 1.docx)
Excersise 1
Serial processing - Specialized seperated work
Prepare covenant Price loan Disburse Funds Completed
Arriving Check credit
(Betty) (Charles) (Doris) Application
application (Albert)
~Expo(1.25h) ~Expo(1h) ~Expo(1h) ~Expo(1h) ~Expo(1h)
Parallel processing - General integrated work
Albert (all 4 steps)
Arriving
application Betty (all 4 steps) Completed
Application
Charles (all 4 steps)
Doris (all 4 steps)
Excersice 1
Run the simulation for 160 hrs and answer the following questions:
- Which arrangement is better based on the simulation results*? Does it make
sense to you?
- How does the result change if all the processing time is constant 1 hour?
- How does the result change if the integrated work entailed an average
increase of 18% in the time it takes to complete all 4 tasks?
(*look at Total WIP, Total time in system, Total waiting time, number processed,
resource utilization)
